Truck It

By Olivia Marie

Being an over the road truck driver, Kelsey had seen it all. Until the day a mangy mutt was dumped at a truck stop. It wasn't the last time she would see that.

When she had enough of nobody doing anything, she took matters into her own hands.

Ditching the life she knew, she jumped in to a new adventure to try and save them all.

Would she have what it took to make a difference? Or would she lose it all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Nov 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393912767

Book preview

A dog looking at the camera Description automatically generated

Dedication:

Sometimes you have to be the change in the world you want to see. Don’t turn a blind eye to those in need that can’t speak up for themselves. Animals are abused and neglected every day and the only ones who can make a difference for them is us.

To my own rescue dogs, this book is for you. I was the one who adopted you, but you were the ones who saved me. I will love you forever.

A huge thank you to my few friends that drive a truck for a living for allowing me to harass you repeatedly with questions to make this book as accurate as possible. I couldn’t do what you do. Thank you for all your hard work to keep us going, even in the hard times.

TRUCK TERMS

Tractor- The truck

Sleeper- The back of the tractor where the driver sleeps and keeps their things.

Cab- the inside of the truck.

Day cab- A tractor without living quarters. This is used when the driver doesn’t go over the road.

Trailer- What carries the product behind the tractor.

Bobtail- When a tractor isn’t connected to a trailer.

Hours of Service- The time allowed for a driver to be on the clock or on duty.

Sleeper berth- The ten hour break a truck driver needs to take each day to rest.

70 hours- The amount of time a driver can go without having to take a day off.

34 hour reset- That is the required time a driver needs to not drive when they reach the 70-hour mark. Most drivers go home during that longer break.

14 hours- An average shift for a truck driver is 14 hours long. This has to include drive time, loading and/or unloading the trailer.

11 hours- The time allowed for a driver to drive. It cannot exceed the 14-hour shift though. If it takes six hours to get loaded or unloaded, they could only drive for eight hours in a single shift then.

30 minute break- After being on the clock for eight hours, a driver has to take a thirty minute break before they can finish out their shift.

Shipper- Where product is picked up from.

Receiver- Where the product is delivered to.

Qualcomm- an onboard computer system to monitor hours of service, location and to communicate with the driver.

Yard- A place to keep trucks or let the truck driver leave their rig when they do their home time.

Home Time- Time off where the driver is out of the truck and off duty. Usually for their 34 hour reset or for requested time off.

Fleet- The group of truckers who work for a company.

Side box- Compartments under the sleeper of a truck for storage. Sometimes they can be accessed from inside the cab by lifting the bed. A place to store tools and other things needed for maintenance.

CDL- Commercial Driver’s License

KW- Kenworth

PROLOGUE

The cab of my truck was already cramped, but I couldn’t leave the poor thing out there. Another cold, rainy November night and the temps would fall to the low fifties. The small dog couldn’t have weighed more than five pounds and was so thin, I could see ribs when the streetlight would hit just right.

Taking my jacket off the back of my chair, I tossed it on carelessly as I raced out to get the dog. I didn’t have much to offer but the truck was warm, and I had water and a little food to offer. As soon as the dog saw me, it froze. The struggle in the animal was real. Stay and see what happened or run before the person could hurt me. I hated that look but it was one I saw with every animal I found.

Come here baby. It’s too cold for you, I said, getting down on my knees and holding out my hand.

The little dog didn’t move for a minute until it heard the bark coming from my cab. Looking up at the dog inside then back at me, it finally made a move close enough I could scoop it up.

You’re a little girl, huh? Poor baby. Come on. I have some food for you and a blanket with your name on it.

She shivered in my arms and I was sure it was from fear as much as it was from the cold. She looked like a little Chihuahua mix of some kind. I could feel every bone in her tiny black and tan body as I held her a little closer to me. Opening up my jacket, I placed her next to me to warm her up fast. With a deep sigh, I felt her relax a little. It was clear she’d been someone’s at one point, but why she was on the street nobody would ever know. In the morning, I would see if anyone reported her missing. If not, she would join me on the road until we could find her a good home.

It wasn’t the first time I’d done that and I doubted it would be the last. The things I saw on the road could have done two things, make me immune or make me want to help.

I was never one to back away from those that needed me. I knew what I needed to do and how I was going to get there. I heard a song once on the radio when I was flipping through the channels. It was a song asking why God didn’t do something about all the bad in the world. In the song, His response was, I did. I created you. And that song played over and over in my mind those past few months. I wasn’t going to be another one that turned away when I saw something. I was going to do something.

Getting her settled in and with some food in her belly, I laughed as I watched her rub across my bed before climbing under a pile of blankets. With her small nose peeking out, I watched as my dog went up to her, touched her nose, then curled in. He was as much a part of saving them as I was.

Even after all that time, it still made me sick when I saw one in her condition. There wasn’t a good enough reason for me when it came to it. Nothing deserved to be treated that way and watching their little souls crushed and watching them give up, it broke my heart but also fueled me to keep going.

After all, sometimes all you could do was say truck it and move on. We had a long way to go yet, but I could tell she needed a little time to settle in. Putting the truck in sleeper mode, I went back there with them and snuggled in. It wasn’t long before I felt her move close enough to touch my leg. It might have been only to get warm, but knowing she was willing to get that close already told me she was gonna make it.

She sighed and he grunted. Soon I heard the sounds of my dogs snoring and the sound of it lulled me to sleep. Dreams of watching them playing in a fenced in yard filled my head that night and I couldn’t wait to make it a reality.

CHAPTER ONE

One year earlier

D anny, don’t you have anyone else who can go get that load? I haven’t been home in weeks, I whined to my boss on the other end of the phone.

You’re the closest. I’m sure Tom would have rather been driving than to have his turbo go out, Dan replied.

Well it stinks and I’m not happy about it. I always seem to be savin your hide.

It’s part of the job. If you don’t like it or can’t handle it, maybe you should switch careers, he yelled before slamming the phone down.

Dick, I said to the buzzing on the other end of the line.

He wasn’t wrong about one thing; it was part of the job. There were more times than not I had been called to finish out a load someone else had to give up. I was the one he could rely on, so I was the first to call. It was also all I knew how to do. My dad had driven big rigs my whole life. I spent more time on the road with him than at home with relatives. He never went